


Welcome Back

by nanuk_dain



Series: Drift Compatible [39]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, PBC (Post-Breach-Collapse), Post-Movie, Team Hot Dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 04:57:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8314732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: On the eighth day after the closure of the Breach, PPDC Marshal Stacker Pentecost finally opens his eyes.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go, the next fic - and it didn't take me a year to post it! I'm so proud of myself... XD I hope I can get more posted before my studies are bound to swallow me up again...

_Hong Kong Shatterdome, January 20th 2025_

 

Herc wakes with a headache. It takes him a while to fight his way through the cobwebs of sleep that don't want to let him go, and when he finally opens his eyes to the dimmed light of Stacker's med bay room he feels the low, throbbing pain spread through his entire head. He sighs and closes his eyes again. It's going to be one of _those_ days, he just knows it.

He's tired, exhausted even, not only from the side effects that Operation Pitfall had on his body, but also from the stress of the past two weeks. He's been so busy that he doesn't quite know how he actually manages to get _anything_ done. He's utterly grateful for the support he receives from everybody around him, especially Mako and Tendo who subtly but firmly take anything off his plate that they know they can do just as well. Yet the fact remains that he dove into work head over heels while still being injured, and he never took the time to actually rest and allow his body to heal and recharge. Now that's coming back to bite him in the arse. The fact that Stacker hasn't woken up is only making things worse, because Herc misses his strength, his reassurance in his mind, the feeling that he can let go and lean on Stacker for a while. Instead he has to be strong all on his own, for himself and Stacker, for Mako and Chuck, for the entire PPDC. It's slowly draining his already depleted energy reserves.

Herc turns around so that he can bury his nose against the warmth of Stacker's neck. He takes a deep breath, feels Stacker's scent wrap all around him and it eases some of the tension he can already feel building in his shoulders. The only thing that helps him recharge is the time he spends cuddled up to Stacker every night. The physical closeness makes him relax and allows him to forget about the strains of the day, at least for a few hours. The peaceful silence filling the ghost drift is slowly driving him crazy, though. He wants to feel the quick and precise activity of Stacker's mind instead, the odd mental touch meant to just make him feel good, the humming feeling of love and affection that steadily resonates in their connection. Now there's just this serene, peaceful quiet. It's not a bad feeling, it's just not what he wants, what he _needs_. If he didn't know where Stacker is, how good the place is he's living in right now, Herc would be climbing the walls. 

He doesn't know how much longer he can keep it up, though. He probably should take a day or two to just stay here in bed with Stacker and allow his still battered body to relax and his mind to wallow in the quiet peacefulness of the ghost drift. He's even tempted to enter a second drift with Stacker, although he knows it's a bad idea. He won't do it, but he's oh so tempted. He just needs to hear Stacker's voice again, to see his face alive with expression instead of still and relaxed in unconsciousness. The idea of stepping back into that perfect world Stacker's mind made up is a temptation that's very hard to resist, but Herc knows that the risk that he won't find the strength to leave again is too great to take. He has too many obligations and responsibilities in the real world to allow himself to get lost in a dream, never mind how beautiful it may be.

He'll just have to keep going, make sure things are progressing as they should and that the PPDC stays alive. One day Stacker will wake up, Herc just has to believe that. He's just having a bad day, that's why his doubts are eating at him, and the headache isn't exactly helping. The world will look better tomorrow.

Herc slowly opens his eyes again and tries to breath against the pain. Time to get up and face the day. He gets up - slowly, because his body is always stiff and sore in the mornings ever since he woke up after Operation Pitfall. It'll ease with time, Herc's had enough injuries throughout his life to know that. But right now he's still in the phase of healing where the body seem to want to make a point that it doesn't like being hurt. Herc agrees whole-heartedly.

After taking a shower - which takes annoyingly long due to the cast on his right arm - and getting dressed, Herc walks over to where Stacker is lying as motionless as always in the hospital bed. He bends down to press a lingering kiss to his temple, just like he always does before leaving in the mornings, and lets his hand card through Stacker's short hair. "I'll be back tonight." 

Stacker doesn't react, and Herc grits his teeth for a moment to swallow the disappointment. He knows in his head not to expect anything else, but his gut is still reeling with hope, only to be disappointed every single time again. Herc lets his hand pass over Stacker's cheek before he leaves the room, forcing all dark thoughts and bone-deep worry to the very back of his mind so that they won't distract him during work.

The headache only gets worse during the day. Herc refuses to take painkillers because they always make him dopey and he can't have that while working, especially not with the journalist, Ms Sokolov, around. She arrived three days ago and is currently working her way through a timetable of interviews that Amanda James set up for her. Tendo is keeping an eye on her, but so far she's been a model guest and hasn't tried to do anything they'd have to object to. Herc likes her, although the fact alone that she's a journalist always keeps him on edge around her. He trusts Tendo's judgement, though, and does his best to relax at least to a certain degree. 

In the morning Herc sits through a meeting with another potential client for the new single-pilot mechas. Mako is along for it because she's the highest authority on those mechas, and the meeting concludes with an agreement that a contract will be set up as soon as the mechas have progressed to a point that allows selling them. It's not the first arrangement of this kind, and Herc is relieved that there's so much interest in the PPDC's newest business venture. It makes the prospect of financing the corps through the mechas a lot more promising, even if they're still months away from actually having anything to sell.

Two days ago Caitlin and Mako presented the official name for the new single-pilot series. They know they need one common term for the project to use during Ms Sokolov's interviews, and they want to make sure that the project gets off to a good start with the public. It's important that the name alone drives home the point that - contrary to the Jaegers - the new mechas are not meant to be weapons, Mako explained, that instead they're meant for science, work and discoveries all over the world. With a smile Caitlin had then announced the final result of many rounds of brainstorming: Civilian Explorers.

Herc noticed that there's already a nickname popping up since they released the name. He's heard several engineers as well as scientists refer to the single-pilot mechas as 'Civvies'. Herc doesn't like it too much, he doesn't see how a mecha can be compared to clothes, but he knows how useless it is to try fighting a nickname. Maybe he should choose to just understand it as an abbreviation of 'Civilian'. He still wonders why they couldn't have picked 'Explorers' as a nickname. It sounded so much better and, well, more dignified. Whoever came up with 'Civvies' should be punished. Herc has an inkling that either Newton or Tendo might have something to do with it.

Currently Ms Sokolov, Tendo and Herc are standing in LOCCENT, ready to go to lunch within the next few minutes. Herc is explaining to Ms Sokolov how the control system of a Jaeger interacts with LOCCENT in comparison to a Civilian Explorer when he feels it. It's a tingling in the back of his mind, barely there but still catching his attention immediately. Herc focuses on the strange feeling, not sure what it means. He's never felt it before. It's faint, but it's persistent. Herc stares into thin air while concentrating on the feeling, trying to pinpoint it, and then it hits him. He sucks in a sudden breath, his entire system flooded with adrenaline.

"Herc?" Tendo's voice indicates that it's not the first time he's trying to get Herc's attention. "Herc, are you okay?"

"He's waking up." Herc breathes, barely above a whisper. There are goosebumps spreading all over his skin, making him shiver. It's the boost of adrenaline, and before he's given it any thought, he has turned on his heel and is running through the hallways of the Shatterdome as fast as his battered body allows. He doesn't care what the personnel thinks about his strange behaviour, or that he just left Ms Sokolov and Tendo standing in the middle of LOCCENT without even the slightest explanation. 

Stacker is waking up. That's all that matters. 

Herc concentrates on the tingling sensation for the entire time it takes him to get to the med bay. Now he knows why it caught his attention. It's the first time since Operation Pitfall that Herc feels conscious thoughts seeping through the ghost drift he shares with Stacker. The quiet is broken by the faint whisper of thoughts, not coherent or focussed, but still, _thoughts_.

Herc runs past the charge nurse who looks up in surprise. She's most certainly not used to the current PPDC Marshal sprinting through the med bay, but Herc doesn't pay her any attention, the only thing on his mind is to get to Stacker's room. He bursts through the door without much finesse, his breath rapid more due to excitement than the physical effort. He's not sure what he expected to find, but it wasn't this. 

Nothing has changed. Stacker lies in exactly the same position as when Herc left that morning. He hasn't moved at all, and he's not moving right now, either. 

Herc tries to catch his breath at the wave of disappointment washing over him. It nearly forces him to his knees. Maybe he misread the signs. Maybe it was just his wishful thinking. Maybe he is all wrong, and Stacker won't wake up at all. Oh god, no, he won't be able to deal with that. Knowing that Stacker is right here, but at the same time completely out of his reach. Never feeling the warmth of his thoughts again. Herc stares at Stacker's unmoving form and swallows hard against the despair he feels spreading inside him like lead poisoning.

"Herc!" He turns around at the familiar voice calling his name and sees Caitlin walking towards him, her steps unusually hurried. "We got a change in the readings from Stacker's brain surveillance sensors. It looked like he was regaining consciousness..."

Caitlin stops by his side to peek past him into the room. Herc only now realises that he's still standing in the doorway, effectively blocking the path, his hands wrapped around the doorframe in an iron grip. He forces himself to let go and steps aside to let her enter the room. He's still wrapping his mind around the fact that the sensors picked up a change in Stacker's condition at the same time that he thought he felt him waking up. It gives him hope where before disappointment had threatened to overwhelm him.

After a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart, Herc follows Caitlin into the room. She's standing by Stacker's side, touching first the sensors attached to Stacker's temples before checking something on the tablet she's carrying. She turns towards Herc when she hears him step up behind her, her gaze finding his unerringly. "You felt something, didn't you? That's why you were here even before I was." 

Herc nods. "A tingling in the back of my mind."

"What do you feel now? Try to concentrate on the ghost drift and what you can pick up."

Herc is glad that she's taking the reins because he's not sure how useful he would be on his own right now. Hope and disappointment are still fighting inside him, and he's not sure which side will win. So he follows Caitlin's request, closes his eyes and opens his mind to the ghost drift. "The quiet is gone. There's... something. Not exactly thoughts like you'd get from a conscious partner over a ghost drift, though." 

"Are you familiar this feeling?" She asks and watches him carefully, taking notes on her tablet all the while.

"Yes." Herc says immediately, amazed that he realises it only now. "It feels like when Stacker would dream and I was awake. I'd get the odd image, but no train of thoughts."

When he opens his eyes, he finds Caitlin watching him, and he can see the wheels turning in her head. She knows something he doesn't. "Tell me, Caitlin."

"Well, it was always very unlikely that he would snap awake immediately. This isn't unexpected. It's a transition from coma into sleep and then, at some point, consciousness." Caitlin explains patiently while consulting her tablet again. She pulls up a graph and shows it to Herc. "See that break there? The pattern before is typical for unconsciousness. The pattern afterwards is typical for the third stage of the sleep cycle. It's one of two deep sleep phases."

Herc may not be able to read the graphs on their own, but he can immediately see the difference in the pattern. "So, what you're saying is that Stacker is asleep right now, he's no longer in a coma."

Caitlin gives him a huge smile that tells him the answer before she has said a word. "Yes. He's out of coma."

An almost overwhelming wave of relief courses through him, and Herc feels goosebumps spread down his arms in its wake. He allows himself to indulge in the feeling for a moment, the smile on his face probably as radiant as it feels. Catilin returns it, her eyes sparkling with a mixture of happiness and relief. Herc puts a hand on her shoulder, and he's not sure it it's to share the elation or because he needs somebody to hold on to so that he won't sink to the floor. His legs feel wobbly, he's oddly light-head and he has the feeling of flying. It's been a long time since he experienced such intense relief.

Herc forces himself to get back on track, but it takes him a moment to regain the ability to speak. "What's going to happen now?"

"It's highly likely that he'll go though stage 4 and afterwards the REM period before waking up. Maybe he'll pass another sleep cycle, depending on whether he needs it or not." Caitlin's voice is light yet sure, and Herc is glad that she's here to guide him through this moment.

"But technically we could wake him at any time?" He asks, just to be clear that he understood this correctly and is not indulging in false hope. 

Caitlin nods. "We could. But I think we should let him wake on his own time."

It goes against everything Herc craves right now, but he grits his teeth and nods. He's been patient for eight days, he can be patient for a few more hours. It's Stacker's well-being that matters most, not his own impatience to finally see him awake, to hear his voice, to look into his eyes. Caitlin is the best on her field of expertise, if she says it's best to let him sleep, then he'll listen to her advice.

"He'll wake up, Herc. Maybe in three hours, maybe in ten, but he _will_ wake up." Herc is pulled back into the present by Caitlin's warm, reassuring words and her hand gently squeezing his arm. "Why don't you stay here with him, so that you're there when he wakes."

"I wish I could." Herc sighs heavily when he suddenly remembers that he just fled LOCCENT without an explanation and that'll create chaos if he doesn't at least let Tendo know what's going on. There are also two or three meetings scheduled for the afternoon... "There's so much I still have to do..."

Caitlin nods, she knows what he's talking about since she's been in the middle of it since day one of reviving the PPDC. "Then get things organised for the day and come back as soon as you can. I'll stay with him until you're back."

Herc stares at Stacker, undecided for once. Inside him, his urge to stay with Stacker is battling with his sense of duty. Caitlin squeezes his arm again.

"It'll be at least two or three more hours before he wakes up, Herc." Caitlin reassures him firmly. "Go and do what you must. Only then will your mind be able to focus entirely on Stacker when you're back here."

Herc chuckles. "You know me too well, Cait."

She smirks. "I've known you for ten years. I learned a thing or two about you."

Herc turns to her and holds her gaze. "Thank you, Caitlin."

He's not just taking about the current situation, and she knows it. She smiles and gives him a little nod. "You're welcome, Herc."

Before he leaves the room, Herc steps up to the bed and presses a lingering kiss to Stacker's temple, well aware that Caitlin's smiling gaze is following him. 

The first thing Herc does is finding Mako. She deserves to hear the good news first. He doesn't have to search for long, he actually comes across her at the entrance to the med bay. Her step is hurried as she's entering the hallway, the expression on her face a mixture of confusion and worry. It's obvious that she was on her way to see Stacker, which means that Tendo must have understood what happened and told her about it.

"Mako. I was just going to get you." Herc says when he comes to stand in front of her. She stands at ease immediately, seemingly relaxed, but Herc can feel the tension in her posture. She knows something happened to Stacker, but she doesn't know whether it's good or bad. 

"Is it Sensei?" she asks in a quiet voice, carefully devoid of emotion, as if she's steeling herself for bad news.

Herc nods and decides to get straight to the point. He doesn't want to torture her with uncertainty. "He's out of coma. He hasn't woken up yet, he's still asleep, but he's not in a coma anymore, Mako."

The tension suddenly eases out of Mako's shoulders and a huge smile spreads over he face. It's a sight Herc has never experienced before, the open and unshielded emotion on her face, the glistering of tears of relief in her eyes, the honest happiness radiating off her. This is not the tightly controlled woman he's become used to. It's then that he really and truly understands how much the worry and the fear for Stacker weighed her down. 

"Caitlin is still with him. Why don't you go see him." Herc says, unable not to return her smile. It's infectious.

She bows, quick and efficient as always, but the smile is still tugging on her lips and lighting up her eyes. "I will. Thank you, Hansen-san."

Herc thinks he can see a spring to her gait when she walks off in the direction of Stacker's room, and it makes him smile. He stares after her until she disappears around the corner, then he shakes his head with a smile and turns to leave, feeling lighter than he has in weeks. Time to find Tendo.

It's exactly two hours and forty-three minutes later that Herc returns to the med bay. He spent the time attending a meeting he couldn't postpone and afterwards delegating whatever duties he doesn't have to take on personally. With Tendo's help he managed to clear the next twenty-four hours off any pressing matters so that he can spend the time with Stacker, and Tendo made it clear he would only be contacted in case of an emergency. Herc is again infinitely grateful that he as such a strong and reliable team in his back. 

When Herc enters Stacker's room, Caitlin is sitting on a chair next to the bed, typing away on her tablet. She looks up when she hears Herc close the door and gently shakes her head. "He hasn't woken up yet. You didn't miss a thing."

Herc is relieved to hear that. He knows Caitlin would have contacted him immediately if Stacker had woken up, but he's grateful it didn't happen yet. He wants to be there when Stacker opens his eyes. He wants to be the first thing Stacker sees.

Caitlin gets up and vacates the chair for him, offering it with a gesture of her hand. "Call me when he wakes up, no matter what time it is."

Herc nods in agreement and sits down. "I will."

"Be patient, Herc. It could still take a while." Catilin's voice is warm and comforting, somehow making the wait easier because her professional opinion reassures Herc. If she says Stacker will wake, then he will. Herc can wait, he's become more patient with age, after all.

Caitlin gives his shoulder another squeeze before she leaves the room, the door shutting behind her with an almost inaudible click. Herc is prepared for a few hours of waiting, he brought his own tablet with the reports he still has to work through. He doesn't get very far before the door opens again, though.

"Dad?" Herc turns around at Chuck's voice. Chuck is standing half inside and half outside the room, as if he's not entirely sure he's welcome. Herc waves him inside, and Chuck quietly closes the door and comes to stand beside him. 

"Did he wake up yet?" Chuck asks quietly, as if he's trying not to be too loud. Herc is still not used to Chuck being considerate and forces himself to not make a comment on it since it would only make Chuck turn defensive. Chuck has quite obviously been making an effort ever since Operation Pitfall, and Herc knows he himself has to do his share, too. They're both at fault for the low their relationship reached over the years, after all.

"No, not yet. He's asleep." Herc replies, not bothering to keep his voice down because he actually wouldn't mind waking Stacker.

"But he's out of coma." Chuck says, and it's probably supposed to be a statement, but somehow it sounds more like a question.

"Yes, he is." Herc confirms with a smile that he just can't hold back. It still amazes him to realise that Stacker has made it. That they both made it, despite the odds of detonating a thermonuclear bomb strapped to their back.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Chuck smirks down at him. 

Herc chuckles. "Hell yes."

"Yeah, I remember." Chuck is still smiling, but Herc can see the faint tension that entered his frame. Herc swallows against the lump in his throat when the words remind him that Chuck lived through the exact same thing only a week ago. There are so many life-changing experiences Chuck went through in such a short period of time, and most of it he did on his own, without Herc by his side. It explains why he's different, why he's not the man Herc remembers from before Operation Pitfall. He still isn't used to the new Chuck, however, still expects a blow to come out of the blue at some point. It's moments like yesterday's conversation in Stacker's office that slowly make Herc begin to believe that maybe there won't be another blow. 

"It's even better when he opens his eyes." Chuck continues after a moment of silence, then he smirks. "And within days he'll be back to his commanding self and kick all of our arses."

Somehow hearing Chuck say that, like he really believes it, makes Herc feel better. He chuckles and returns the smirk, allowing his gratefulness to show. "Yeah, probably."

Chuck looks away after a few seconds, and the faint red tingeing his cheeks tells Herc that he's a bit embarrassed. They're both not used to peaceful, even companionable conversations like this one, and Herc guesses that Chuck is as insecure as Herc about how to deal with this new development. Hopefully they'll get there eventually.

"I'll come by again later. Maybe he's awake then." Chuck gives Herc's shoulder a quick, unexpected squeeze and almost flees the room, as if it just got too much for him. Herc looks at the door that's slowly falling shut behind him and can't help a little laugh. He guesses they both still have a long way to go before they're really going to be comfortable around each other. But it's a start.

Herc picks up the tablet and returns to the reports he's supposed to read. He can't really concentrate, though, his attention is drawn back to Stacker like a moth to the flame. Herc finds himself concentrating on the odd feeling or image he can pick up over the ghost drift, trying to find a sign, _any_ sign, that Stacker might wake up soon. The fact alone that the serene quiet that filled the ghost drift for the past eight days is gone is a relief, and in the end Herc puts the tablet aside, closes his eyes and allows the dim activity of Stacker's sleeping mind to capture his focus. He wraps his hand around Stacker's, and immediately there is a change tangible in their connection. Herc lets his fingers caress Stacker's skin, all the while paying close attention to the reactions he can feel coming from Stacker. Every touch seems to spurn on his mind until there's the odd thought, mostly Stacker's senses picking up input from his surroundings. Herc smiles and continues his gentle touches, giving Stacker something to focus on on his way out of sleep.

Herc has lost any sense of time when he suddenly feels Stacker's mind clear, a second before hearing his name.

"Herc..." It's more a croak than actually his name because Stacker's voice is rough and hoarse with disuse and barely louder than a whisper. It doesn't matter, though, not to Herc. It's the most beautiful sound he has heard in ages and every single tone makes goosebumps spread all over Herc's body.

"Stacks?" Herc is aware how broken his voice sounds and he feels tears of relief prickle in his eyes, but he can't find it in him to care. All that matters is that he can hear Stacker's voice, that he is looking into Stacker's dark brown eyes, that he can feel Stacker's fingers twitch in his hand. All that matters is that Stacker finally woke up. Chuck was right, it feels amazing. 

"Herc." Stacker's eyes focus on him, sleepy but clear. For a few seconds he seems disorientated, then he suddenly tenses and his hand closes around Herc's in a desperate grip. "The Breach!"

Herc can't hold back the laugh that is forced out of his lungs. This is so typically Stacker that it fills him with hot relief. "It's sealed, Stacks. We did it. The Breach is sealed."

"Chuck? Raleigh?" Stacker's grip tightens even more, and Herc knows where that strength is coming from. Stacker is desperate, scared even, because he doesn't know what happened. Herc does his best to send reassurance over the ghost drift to ease his mind and calm him down.

"They're fine, Stacker. We all made it." Herc soothingly strokes Stacker's hair and face, trying to convey reassurance and a feeling of safety through physical as well as mental touch. 

It works, a smile spreads over Stacker's lips and the tension leaves his body. "Good."

"Go back to sleep, Stacks. I'll be here." Herc leans in to press a lingering kiss to Stacker's temple. He can feel how much this short interaction exhausted Stacker, so he sends another wave of warm reassurance through their connection to ease Stacker's mind. Stacker holds his gaze for a moment longer, then his breath evens out, his eyes close and he slips back into sleep, the smile still on his face and his body relaxed. Only his hand is sill firmly wrapped around Herc's. 

Herc watches him for a long time, never stopping the slow caress of his fingers in Stacker's short hair. It has grown a bit since Operation Pitfall, and Herc likes how it's long enough to slide softly through his fingers. He feels over the ghost drift that his touch is calming Stacker, allowing him a peaceful state of mind that helps him fall into a deep, restful sleep.

When Herc is sure that Stacker is asleep again, he writes a quick message to Caitlin to let her know that Stacker woke up. He informs her that it lasted only for a few minutes and that Stacker is asleep again. She asks a few question about his impression of Stacker's condition and what he picked up over the ghost drift before asking Herc to contact her when he wakes again. Herc has just agreed to it when Tendo is coming into the room, closing the door behind him almost silently.

"Hey Herc." Tendo greets him quietly and steps up to the bed. "How's he doing?"

"He woke up half an hour ago. He was lucid, and he recognised me immediately." Herc says, his voice pitched low, then he chuckles. "First thing he asked was if we managed to close the Breach, so I think it's safe to assume that his memory is intact."

"That's really good to hear." Tendo replies, the relief plain in his voice and face. They're all well aware that there was no way of telling if - or how much - damage drifting had caused to Stacker's mind. Him remembering things ss a very good omen, though. "I'm glad you were right."

Herc is confused for a moment, not sure what Tendo is referring to. "Right about what?"

"That he would wake up. You always told us he would." Tendo smiles, and there's heartfelt relief in his eyes. "I'm glad you were right."

"Yeah, me too." Herc sighs, but it's so quiet that he's not sure Tendo even hears it. Maybe it's best if he doesn't. He doesn't need to know that Herc wasn't always so certain, that doubt got to him, too.

"Take the day, Herc. Everything is running smoothly. We have it under control. So, don't worry and just... enjoy the moment." Tendo says firmly. When Herc looks up Tendo is smiling, but the expression on his face makes it clear that he means it. He doesn't want to see Herc back at work for at least the next twenty-four hours.

Herc swallows against the lump in his throat. "Thank you, Tendo."

Tendo just nods and quickly pats Herc on the back before he leaves the room as quietly as he came in. Herc stares after him for a few minutes before he forces his concentration back on the report he was reading. Now that Stacker woke up, even if only for a few minutes, Herc can finally concentrate again. 

It's almost five o'clock when Stacker wakes again. Herc feels it just like last time, only that now the process of Stacker's mind clearing to conscious thought takes place much faster. Herc sets the tablet aside - he's proud he actually got some work done - and stands up to get a glass of water as soon as he feels Stacker stir. He's back sitting on the edge of the bed just in time to watch Stacker's eyelids flutter a few times before the brown eyes finally open. Stacker's gaze flickers around the room for a second before unerringly finding Herc. 

"Hey sleepyhead." Herc smiles and squeezes Stacker's hand. He doesn't have the words to describe how it makes him feel when Stacker returns the gesture. "Do you want some water?"

Stacker nods after a moment of just staring at Herc as if he's trying to remember every detail of his face. As if he hasn't seen him in a long time, which is kind of true, Herc guesses. His gaze is so intense that it freezes Herc on the spot, the glass of water completely forgotten. Herc can't look away, he doesn't ever _want_ to look away. Stacker raises his hand - slowly, as if it takes a lot of effort just to move his arm - and when it settles against Herc's cheek, cupping his jaw, it nearly breaks Herc. 

He draws a shaky breath and squeezes his eyes shut against the tears threatening to fall. It's too much, it's all too much. It's months of growing desperation leading up to Operation Pitfall, it's sending his own son on a suicide mission, it's knowing that neither he nor Stacker will survive, it's almost dying, it's weeks of watching Stacker lying motionless in this bed, it's the doubt if he wakes up, the fear that he won't. All of those feeling come crashing down on him the moment he feels Stacker touch him, the moment he feels his gentle reassurance and his unwavering determination over the ghost drift. Herc turns his head and hides his face in Stacker's palm, trying to just keep breathing.

"God, Stacks, I missed you so much." Herc doesn't recognise his own voice, it's so dark, so rough, so broken that it doesn't seem to belong to him.

"Come here." Stacker other hand comes up to settle on Herc's shoulder, giving it a little tug that Herc follows immediately. He lets himself be guided down until he's stretched out along Stacker, his head resting on Stacker's shoulder. He feels strong arms wrap around him, a safe haven that Herc has missed so much in those past eight days.

"I've got you, Herc." Stacker mumbles into Herc's hair before pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

Herc wants to laugh - it's Stacker who just woke up from a week-long coma, after all, and not him - but he doesn't find it in him. He just nods and buries his face against Stacker's neck and allows himself to let go for the first time since he woke up after Operation Pitfall.

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo, was it what you were hoping for? The Stacker-wakes-up-thing? I know a lot of you have asked for it for ages (and were probably worried I'd never post it because the series looked pretty abandoned this past year) and I hope I didn't disappoint. There will be more about them finally being reunited, something to look forward to ^_^


End file.
